this morning, we found out that the unemployment rate has fallen to its lowest level since i took office. [cheers] more americans entered the work force, more people are getting jobs. now, every month reminds us that we've still got too many of our friends and neighbors who are looking for work. and there are too many middle class families that are still struggling to pay the bills. they were struggling long before the crisis hit. but today's news certainly is not an excuse to try to talk down the economy to score a few political points. it's a reminder that this country has come too far to turn back now. [applause]

because of your strength and resilience, the strength and resilience of the american people, we've made too much progress to return to the policies that led to the crisis in the first place. i can't allow that to happen. i won't allow that to happen. and that is why i'm running for a second term as president of the united states! [cheers and applause] i have seen too much pain, seen too much struggle to let this country get hit with another round of top-down economics. one of the main reasons we had this crisis is because big banks on wall street were allowed to make big bets with other people's money and governor romney wants to roll back the rules we put in place to stop that behavior? that's not going to happen. that is not going to happen. [applause] one of the main reasons record surpluses under bill clinton

were turned into record deficits under george bush is because we put two wars and two tax cuts on a credit card. and now governor romney wants another $5 trillion in tax cuts that he can't pay for? not if i have anything to say about it. that's not going to happen. [applause] we are not going to let this country fall backward. not now. not with so much at stake. we've got to move forward. we need to invest in small business and manufacturers who create jobs here in the united states. we need to recruit 100,000 math and science teachers, train two million workers at community college, bring down the cost of college tuition. we need to -- [cheers and applause] we need to cut our oil imports in half. create thousands more jobs in

clean energy. we need to use the savings from ending the wars in iraq and afghanistan to help pay down our deficit and put people back to work doing some nation building right here at home. that's the agenda we need. that's how you strengthen the middle class. that's how you keep moving forward. that's the choice in this election. and that's why i'm running for a second term. that's what we need. now, my opponent has been trying to do a two-step and reposition and got -- got an extreme makeover. [applause] but the bottom line is his underlying philosophy is the top-down economics that we've seen before.

he thinks that if we just spend another $5 trillion on tax cuts that yes, skewed toward the wealthiest, if we get rid of more regulations on wall street, then our problems will be solved. jobs and prosperity will rain down from the sky. the deficits will magically disappear. we will live happily ever after. [laughter] even though he's been proposing this plan for months now, he's had a little trouble explaining just how it would work without blowing a hole in the deficit or making middle class families pick up the tab. the other night he ruled out asking millionaires and billionaires to pay even a dime more in taxes. he said there's no way that he would close the loophole that gives big oil companies billions each year in corporate welfare. ending tax breaks for corporations that move jobs and profits overseas, he'd never heard of such a thing. who knew? [laughter] who knew? [applause]

when he was asked what he'd actually do to cut spending and reduce the deficit, he -- his big example was to go after public television. so for all you moms and kids out there, don't worry. somebody is finally getting tough on big board. [laughter] rounding them up. elmo's got to watch out, too. governor romney plans to let wall street run wild again but bring the hammer down on "sesame street." it makes perfect sense. [applause] virginia, we can't afford to double down on the same old top- down economic policies that caused this mess in the first place. we cannot afford another round of tax cuts for the wealthy. we can't afford to gut our investments in education.

or clean energy. or research. and technology. we can't afford to roll back regulations on wall street banks or oil companies or insurance companies. that is not a jobs plan. it's not a plan to grow our economy. it's sure not a plan to strengthen our middle class. we have been there. we have tried that. we're not going back. we are moving forward. we've got a different view about how we create jobs and prosperity in this country. [applause] this country doesn't just succeed when just a few are doing well at the top. succeed is when the middle lass gets bigger. our economy doesn't grow from the top down. it grows from the middle out. we don't -- we don't believe that anybody's entitled to success in this country. but we do believe in opportunity. we believe in a country where hard work pays off. and responsibility is rewarded. and everybody's getting a fair

shot. and everybody's doing their fair share. and everybody's playing by the same rules. believehe country we in. that's what we've been fighting for for the last four years. that's what we are going to put in place in the next four years if you re-elect me as president of the united states of america. that's what we're going to do. [cheers and applause] >> four more years! four more years! four more years! four more years! four more years! four more years! four more years! >> now, today i want to also talk about economic issues that didn't get enough attention in

the debate the other night. and that's economic issues that have a direct impact on women and as a consequence, have a direct impact on families. when it comes to the economy, it's bad enough that our opponents want to take us back to the failed policies of the last decade. when it comes to a woman's right to make her own health care choices, they want to take us back to the policies of the 1950's. this election is your chance to make sure that doesn't happen, virginia. the decisions that affect a woman's health aren't up to politicians. they're not up to insurance companies. they're up to you. they're up to you. [cheers] you deserve a president who will fight to keep it that way. that's the president i've been. that's the president i'll be if you give me a second term. you don't have to take me -- you don't have to take me at my

word. you can look at my record. four years ago, i said i'd pass health reform before the end of my first term. thanks to your help, that's what we did. [applause] the new health care law helps make sure you don't have to worry about going broke just because you or a loved one gets sick. insurance companies can no longer put lifetime limits on your care. or jack up your premiums without reason. or drop your coverage when you need it most. they can no longer discriminate against children with pre- existing conditions. and soon they will no longer be able to deny you coverage based on pre-existing conditions like breast cancer or charge you more for the same care just because you're a woman. this law has already allowed nearly seven million young adults under the age of 26 to sign up and stay on their

parents' health care plan. it's already saved millions of seniors on medicare hundreds of dollars on their prescription medicine. and millions of americans have actually gotten a rebate from their insurance company if that company -- you got one? [applause] i wanted to say -- i mean, she was a supporter. but i didn't know about -- [laughter] you get a rebate if the insurance company spent too much on administrative costs and c.e.o. bonuses. this health care has secured new access to preventative care like mammograms and cancer screenings with no co-pay, no deductible, no out-of-pocket

costs for more than 20 million women. [applause] and now most health plans are beginning to cover the cost of contraceptive care. which is vital for women's health. doctors prescribe contraception not only for family planning but as a way to reduce the risk of ovarian and other cancers. and it's good for our health care system in general. because we know the overall cost of care is lower when women have access to contraceptive services. now, before this new law, many health care plans charged high deductibles or co-pays for these preventable services or didn't cover them at all. according to one study, more than half of all women put off the care they needed because of that. how many of you have gone without the care you needed or the checkup because were you worried the insurance co-pay

would go too high and you couldn't afford gas or groceries or your kids' new soccer uniform and you've had to make choices. and sacrifices. i don't think a working mom in arlington should have to wait to get a mammogram just because money is tight. i don't think a college student in fairfax or charlottesville should have to choose between textbooks or the preventative care that she needs. that's why we passed this law. and i am proud of it. it was the right thing to do. and we are going to keep it. [applause] now, my opponent has a different view. the other night he said he would repeal obamacare as soon as he took office. don't boo. vote. vote. vote.

but after he said that, then he backtracked and said no way, at least i'll make sure to cover folks with pre-existing conditions. and then i have explained, well, actually, your plan doesn't do that. and then his campaign had to come out and say, actually, that's not true or the plan wouldn't do that. so governor romney was fact checked by his own campaign. [laughter] that's rough. that's rough. [applause] even they know his plan would take away coverage for tens of millions of americans. governor romney said he'd get rid of planned parenthood funding. apparently this along with big bird is driving the deficits. [laughter] and he would have supported an

extreme measure in massachusetts that would have outlawed some form of contraception. he joined the far right of his party to support a bill that would allow any employer to deny contraceptive coverage to their employees. think about that. your boss telling you what's best for your health and safety. let me tell you something, virginia. i don't think your boss should control the care you get. i don't think insurance companies should control the care you get. i definitely don't think politicians on capitol hill should control the care you get. we've seen some of their attitudes. we've read about those. i think there's one person who gets to make decisions about your health care. that's you. [applause] my opponent has called himself severely conservative. but let me tell you something, there's nothing conservative as katherine made clear, there's nothing conservative about a government that prevents a woman from making her own health care decisions.

governor romney talks about freedom. but freedom is the ability to determine the care you need when you need it. freedom is the ability to change jobs or start your own business without the fear of losing your health insurance. freedom is the knowledge that you'll no longer be charged more than men for the same health care. or denied affordable coverage just because you've beat cancer. and at a time when women make up nearly half the work force, and an increasing share of family bread winners, these are not just health issues or women's issues. these are economic issues that are vital and affect every family in america. they matter. when -- when a woman is the main bread winner for her family but takes home less pay for the same work, as a man does because she's a woman, that is not right. when my opponent's campaign was asked if he'd support legislation given -- giving women the tools to fight for an

equal day's pay for an equal day's work, he said we'll get back to you on that and since then refused to explain his position. you've already got my answer. upholding the principle of equal pay for equal work, that was one of the first bills i signed into law. [cheers and applause] i named two extraordinary women who understand these issues on the supreme court, the highest court in the land. and remember the next president, the next congress, could tip the balance of the court in a way that turns back the clock for women and their families for decades to come. the choice between going backward and moving forward has never been so clear. virginia, we don't need a president who's promised to rubber stamp the top-down agenda of the republicans in this congress.

we don't want to go back. we've got to go forward. from the day we began this campaign, we've always said that real change takes time. it takes more than one year or one term or even one president. it takes more than one party. it certainly can't happen if you're willing to write off half the nation before you even take office. [applause] people forget back in 2008, 47% of the country didn't vote for me. but on the night of the election, i said to all those americans, i said, i may not have won your vote, but i hear your voices. and i need your help. and i will be your president, too. [applause]

howvirginia, i don't know many of you will vote for me this time around. but i promise you -- but i promise you no matter how many do, i will be your president, too. no matter what, i'll be fighting for you. because i'm not just fighting for democratic jobs or republican jobs. i'm fighting for american jobs. i'm not just fighting for good schools in blue states or red states. i'm fighting for good schools in the united states. the values that we are fighting for and care about of hard work and looking out for one another, those are not rich values or poor values or business values or worker values or red, white, black, asian, it doesn't matter. they are american values. they are american values. [applause]

and if we rally around a new economic patriotism together, if we reclaim our values, we will rebuild this economy. we'll strengthen the middle class. we'll keep moving forward. i am confident our politics is not as divided as our politics suggests. i do -- i believe we've got more in common than the pundits are willing to tell you. i still believe in you, and i hope you still believe in me. and if you are willing to get out there and make some phone calls and knock on some doors, beat the pavement, if you'll vote for me in november, we will win fairfax county again. we will win virginia again. we'll finish what we've started. and i remind the world, alongside you, why it is that the united states of america is the greatest nation on earth,

god bless you, virginia. thank you. god bless you, united states of america. [cheers and applause] ♪

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>> this evening we will show you some of the vice presidential debates over the past 25 years. we will begin with dick cheney and john edwards followed by joe biden and sarah palin in 2008. the 1984 debate of george bush and feraro. it all begins this evening at 7:00 eastern on c-span. c-span's campaign 2012 web site provides live and on demand coverage of all the presidential and vice presidential debates. it is the only place he was a live coverage before and after the debates. it has each question as a separate clip where you can

watch by topic. read tweaks from political reporters and other actions from the debate hubbub. go to c-span.org/debates. >> mitt romney says that fewer jobs were traded this month than last. this is about 30 minutes. ♪

♪ >> wow, that is quite a welcome. thank you, virginia. i love you, too, guys. >> mitt, mitt, mitt, mitt! >> thank you. thank you. gosh, just spent a half-hour with your fine citizens who want to keep working in this area. a farm couple wonders if they are going to keep their farm because the man lost his job in the coal mine. these are tough times, but you are strong people and we are

going to bring back jobs and bring back america. somewhere congressman morgan griffith is here. thank you for being here. you got to make sure you are going to reelect this guy. we were going to have your governor here today, but he is down in florida campaigning for me, so thanks for bob mcdonnell. you may know a couple nights ago we had a debate. you may have got the chance to see that. it was a good experience for me, for the president, for people to watch. it was a debate of substance. we talked about issues. i asked the president some questions that people across the country would want to ask the president, such as why it

was when america was needing jobs so badly he was pushing for "obamacare"? i got to ask him why there are still 23 million americans out of work or struggling to find full-time jobs. i got the chance to ask him, why is the middle class buried in this country? the price of everything you buy is going up. people in the middle class have been buried. i got the chance to talk about and an ask him why he is cutting $716 billion from medicare. also got to point out he is in favor of a tax plan that will kill 700,000 jobs. he had a chance to answer those questions, or not answer them, as the case may be. more important was the chance

to talk about where we are going in the future and what we would do, and what he described was in my view a reiteration of the status quo. he will keep doing the things he has done, have a stimulus, hire more government workers, pick winners and losers like solyndra. he does not like picking winners. he just likes picking losers. he is in favor of higher taxes. yesterday the vice president blurted out the truth, saying they want to raise taxes $1 trillion. i do not want to raise taxes on any american because i want to create good jobs in america ought. i will take america in a different direction. i want to make sure our policies encourage job growth, and i have five things i will do.

you have heard me describe them, that will get jobs growing in this country and in this part of virginia, because number one is to take full advantage of all our energy resources, oil, coal, gas, nuclear, and renewables. i know you care more about coal than the other ones i mentioned, but when the president was running for office, he said if you build a new coal-fired plant, you will go bankrupt. the head of the epa said the regulations on burning coals are so stringent it is impossible to build a new plant. i do not believe in putting our coal under the ground forever. we should take advantage of it and use the resource that is abundant, cheap, and can be burned in a clean way. i also believe in oil and gas,

that we should develop our resources. within eight years north america should be energy independent, and that requires all those sources of energy. that will keep the price at the pump moderated, the price of electricity moderated, and it will mean a lot of good jobs. if we are serious about energy, really take advantage of the resources we have, you will create some 3.5 million to 4 million jobs. you are thinking about one job, your job. i am thinking about your job as well, person by person. every american deserves a good job. people are hard-working. i want to make sure your job stays here and provides a bright future for you and your family. i also believe in addition to energy that we have an opportunity to create more jobs by selling our goods and services abroad. i want to open up more trade

with other nations. i will crack down on china. number three, i want to make sure our people have the skills they need to succeed. we have a lot of government training programs. that is all fine and well, except there are 47 of them, and they report to eight different agencies. the overhead costs of all this burden and bureaucracy is killing. i want to take the money the federal government is spending on training, send it back to virginia, its fair share, and let virginia do what is right for the people of virginia. let me mention as my number four, to get this economy going and create more good jobs, let me mention something about the

deficit. this idea of every year america spending and the federal government $1 trillion more than we take in is bad for our economy cannot also bad for the next generation. i think it is immoral to spend more than we take in. i will cut federal spending, cap federal spending, and i will get on track to a balanced budget. people ask me how i will do that, and i will cut out programs we do not absolutely have to have. number two, i will make sure some programs but go back to the state where they can be run more efficiently. we will cut back on the federal government, and one program i will get rid of is "obamacare." finally, to mention a fifth idea, i want to champion small business. i want to make it easier for entrepreneurs to start

businesses, to grow, and i know how to do that. the president has an unusual tax plan, to raise taxes on successful small businesses that happen to employ 1/4 of all america's private-sector work force, from 35% to 40%. when you take that with state income tax and payroll tax and real-estate taxes and gasoline taxes, all together that means small business that are highly successful will end up giving more of what they have the government. that will kill jobs. i do not want to kill jobs. my priority is to create jobs, and i will do that with everything i can do. we can do better. we do not have to stay on the path we have been on. there was a report that came out this morning on job creation this last month.

there were fewer new jobs created this month than last month. the unemployment rate has come down very slowly, but it has come down nonetheless. the reason it has come down this year is due to the fact that more and more people have just stopped looking for work. if you drop out of the workforce, give up and say i cannot go back to work, i will stay home, if you drop out altogether, you're no longer part of the statistics. it looks like unemployment is getting better, but if the same share of people were participating in the workforce today as on day the president got elected, unemployment would be around 11%. that is the real reality. people who have jobs are having a tough time. the middle class is being squeezed with incomes that have gone down by $4,300 a family. this cannot go on. when i'm president, that unemployment rate will come

down, not because people are giving up and dropping out of the workforce, because we are creating more jobs. i will create jobs and get america working again. so the american people have a choice. i think both men, we have individuals who care deeply about our country and the people of america. we would lead america in different ways. this president calls his policies going forward. i called his policies forewarned. we know where they have been because we have seen them over the last four years. we have seen 20 million people out of work. we have seen incomes go down. we have seen trillion-dollar deficits. the road this president has put us on looks like europe, which

is not working and it will not work here. if the president is reelected, this president will have a trillion-dollar deficit every year, we will end up with a $20 trillion debt, and you do not see that money, you do not see that that, but you will be paying the interest on it all your lives, and then your kids will be paying for it, and you will be wondering why the government is doing this and it is racking up all the interest. he would take us down a path like europe. there are countries on the verge of fiscal collapse or calamity or crisis. that is the path he is taking us on. i will take us on a different course. i will help create 12 million new jobs and rising take-home pay. i will get us on track to a balanced budget. i will restore personal freedom

in part by getting rid of "obamacare" and return to people the right they have to deal with their own health care with their own physicians. this president is trying to make all their numbers work by cutting in one place. that is our military. that is the one place he seems to be willing to take a pretty big meat cleaver to. he had his own budget which cut the military, but had this idea of the sequestration which would cut it even more. he is cutting about $1 trillion out of the military. did you know we have fewer ships in the navy today that any time since 1917? the air force is older and smaller in its fleet than at any time since 1947 when it was formed. you know our troops were stretched to the limit in iraq

and afghanistan, and yet he wants to shrink the number of troops, shipbuilding, purchases of aircraft. i will take us in a different direction. i will maintain a military second to none that is so strong no one will ever test us, we will add to our navy, air force, and to our active-duty personnel. >> usa! usa! usa! usa! usa! usa! >> one of the great experiences i have had is meeting men and women who have served in our military. i deeply respect and appreciate the sacrifice that they have made, and i appreciate the sacrifice of their families and those that have been lost and their families. i wonder if those who are here today who have served in the military or are serving will please to raise their hands and be recognized. wow.

thank you. this is a beautiful corner of god's creation, but that wonderful line from one of our national hymns comes to mind, "oh beautiful, for heroes proved in liberating strife who more than self their country loved and mercy more than life!" i love our national heroes, the men and women of our armed forces. thank you, ladies and gentlemen. we face a critical time. we face a time when too many americans are out of work, whe too many americans are tired of being tired. we face a time when kids wonder if the future will be as bright for them as it has been for their parents, when there is tumult in the middle east and people are asking where is american leadership? this is a critical time. if we were to reelect the president, we would not measure up to the test of time. i understand what it takes to restore the vitality of our economy, and that will allow us

to restore the strength of our military and continue to lead the world. their verdict depends upon it. i was in san diego, and i sat with a number of veterans from world war ii. one was actually on the uss tennessee on the day that their ship was attacked in pearl harbor. he was in the lookout post. he could actually lock eyes with the pilots who were delivering armament. the men like him sacrificed enormously for us for our prosperity and our freedom and held aloft a torch where the world to see, towards freedom and hope and opportunity. now there are not as many as there used to be in the greatest generation, not as strong, that are still with us.

they cannot hold the torch quite as high. it is our turn to grab that torch and hold it aloft. and we are going to do it. i need you guys to all voters. we need to take back america and keep america the shining city on the hill. i love this great country. i believe in you. we will take america back so that the world will wonder at the great things we have achieved. thank you, virginia, god bless you, and god bless the united states of america. thank you. ♪

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>> see the next debate on c- span, c-span radio, and c- span.org. next, your comments and calls on washington journal. a look at the impact of the so- called fiscal clicked next year. >> almost 20 years ago we broadcast one of the most controversial stories and our 44 years on the air. it was called "yes, but is it art?" i was accused of somebody --

works that i question the worth hundreds of thousands of dollars are now worth hundreds of millions. >> what made everybody so mad? >> i discovered something that i could absolutely barely believe. when you question somebody's taste in art, it is more personal than their politics, religion, sexual preference. it is something that goes to the soul would use a "you bought that?" walter cronkite and journalism today, sunday at 8:00 on "q &a." >>